U.S. marriage laws based on Loving

Deborah McDaniel, Ronald Blanton

Sunday

Jun 11, 2017 at 12:01 AM

On Monday we have a splendid opportunity to celebrate a glorious holiday in America. June 12 marks the 50th anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court’s Loving vs. Virginia decision. In addition to being an important step in the long march toward full human rights, this landmark decision must be the most appropriately (and delightfully) named Supreme Court case in the history of American jurisprudence.

It has given rise to a holiday with an equally delightful name: Loving Day.

Mildred Jeter and Richard Loving were an interracial couple (she was black, Cherokee and Rappoahannlck; he was of Irish and English descent) who had grown up as family friends in their small hometown of Central Point in rural Virginia. They fell in love and sought to marry, but were unable to do so in Virginia.

In the nearby District of Columbia there was no law against their marriage, so they traveled there to marry on June 21,1958. Their family would grow to include three children.

The newlyweds returned to live in their home in Caroline County. A few weeks later, acting on a July 11 warrant, their home was raided in the early morning hours by Sheriff R. Garnett Brooks and two deputies. The Lovings were arrested in their bedroom and jailed for violation of Virginia’s anti-miscegenation law. Their one-year prison sentences were suspended only on condition that they plead guilty and leave the state. Forced into exile, they returned to Washington, D.C., but were dismayed by city life and longed for their home and family in Virginia.

In 1963, Mildred requested help from the American Civil Liberties Union in gaining relief from their conviction. The ACLU assisted the Lovings in bringing suit against the Commonwealth of Virginia. Attorneys Bernard Cohn and Philip Hirschknop represented them as their case made its way through the appeals process.

On June 12, 1967, the Supreme Court handed down its unanimous ruling: Virginia (or any other state) may not discriminate on the basis of race in granting license to marry.

At that time, there were laws similar to Virginia’s in 16 states. Anti-miscegenation laws had existed in 41 states at some point in their history. Alaska, Connecticut, Hawaii, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Vermont and Wisconsin never passed laws banning interracial marriage.

An Oregon statute passed in 1866 restricted marriage between whites and those of “negro, Chinese, Kanaka, or Indian blood.” That law was repealed in 1951. Oregon was the only state to specifically ban marriage between whites and “Kanaka,” or native Hawaiians.

In 2015 the Loving case was cited as precedent in the landmark Obergefell vs. Hodges decision, which ruled that states may not discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation in granting a license to marry.

Our march toward human dignity is a long one, with many important victories along the way.

We have had setbacks and bitter losses. Racism persists. Racists have lurked in the shadows and are currently taking encouragement for open and even violent expression of their ethno-nationalism in the form of white supremacist terrorism. In the current political climate, with increasing racial bigotry and hatred, there are persons who have gained positions of high power and who desire to turn back the clock on the progress of human rights. Especially in light of this danger, it is powerful and necessary to collectively remember and celebrate our victories.

Celebrating Loving Day is a gentle antidote to the ugly expressions of xenophobic poison. Love triumphs.

The number of interracial and interethnic marriages is steadily increasing in America. The Pew Research Center analysis of U.S. Census data reveals that over the past five decades, the proportion of interracial newlyweds has risen from 3 percent to 17 percent, resulting in a demographic shift.

We feel very proud that Eugene Mayor Lucy Vinis has proclaimed “June 12, 2017 as ‘Loving Day’ in the city of Eugene,” and called “this observance to the attention of all our citizens.”

Please join us on Monday in commemorating the day by offering each other hearty greetings of “Happy Loving Day!”

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